The Red Cow — Restaurant in St Albans

As my Mum, Stepdad and little brother are visiting from up north this weekend we decided to pop to the Red Cow yesterday after they arrived at my house.I honestly wish we hadn’t bothered.

We had three children in total with us. One of which is autistic and the other deaf so both can at times be loud but they weren’t overly noisy at all yesterday. Some customers were glaring at us anytime the children spoke and another customer kept tutting anytime a dog barked or our children made a noise. Customers were sprawled out across the bar without moving aside to let my partner order.

One staff member with black hair came over to our table snatched the cutlery off and remarked “this table is reserved hence why the cutlery is out”. There was no reserved sign and a lot of pubs/restaurants have cutlery laid out on tables anyway. We just sat there because the children gravitated to it and didn’t think that deeply into it.

My son was getting fed up and we weren’t happy with the atmosphere so we packed up to leave. My son who is 2 was crying in his buggy on the way out of the door. The same staff member who snatched the cutlery off our table was standing by the door, my Mum said thank you to her and the staff member rolled her eyes at my son who was crying. I passed her at the door after my mum and I too said thank you, only to be ignored by her.

I’m sorry but is this a pub or a library? We’re local and although we don’t visit the pub that often, when we have been there in the past the team have been amazing. Particularly the manager Zoe, who I believe is currently on leave-AND IT SHOWS!! Zoe is amazing with kids and has always been really helpful and kind to our children, also to my little brother when he is down to visit.

What a genius way to make people feel so uncomfortable and awkward that they want to leave and not spend more money. It’s an actual joke. Get...

We called up and booked a table for Sunday lunch. We were told the only table they had available was at 4.30pm, which we booked. When we turned up at 4.30pm and said we had a table booked the waitress told us she would have to tell the chef that we would be ordering food and that he was just finishing up cooking. It was obvious the person who took our booking didn't make note of it or tell anyone, we were made to feel like we were inconveiniencing the chef when actually we had called ahead to book and they should be expecting people coming at 4.30pm. We then waited an hour and a half for food, they forgot parts of the dishes and some of it was burnt. The waitresses were unprofessional, drinking alcohol at the bar, and there was no effort of apology for the wait. Unfortunately, the food wasn't worth waiting for. Perhaps it was off because they had been busy but I wouldn't recommend it and won't...

A lucky find as we were looking for somewhere to eat before a flight from Luton Airport and the first pub we tried was closed for renovation. The Red Cow is about 12-15 minutes drive away from the airport depending on traffic.

We had a really nice lunch (fish & chips and my wife chilli con carne) and the Farr Brew beer was simply excellent. Alex, the assistant manager, was amazingly friendly and helpful - a real asset to the pub. We had a great experience and plan to return.

So if you're looking for somewhere to eat/drink around Luton Airport, we can highly recommend the Red Cow pub (food, beer, team all great). I'm actually going to make this my go-to place before...